Graduate Student Profile: Ariadna Sachdeva
Held on November 15 and 16, 2013, the Pathways to Prosperity (P2P) annual conference brought together researchers, community leaders and government officials from the federal and provincial levels, to discuss best practices for improving integration of immigrants and visible minorities within Canadian communities. Within the various sessions held, special attention was paid to Francophone minorities outside of Quebec and to northern and remote communities.
Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS) MPP student, Ariadna Sachdeva, was one of many scholars invited to present her research findings as part of a poster session.
“The P2P annual conference allowed me to meet students, professors, community leaders and government officials that are willing to work together to improve Canada’s ability to welcome newcomers as well as implement better policies to integrate them faster into the Canadian society,” said Sachdeva. “It was a great opportunity to participate in this national debate about immigration issues in Canada as well as to show and share my research interests with other students and experienced researchers.”
Sachdeva’s research explores changes in linguistic diversity in second and third generations of Canadian-born children of Chinese-origin in Vancouver. She aims to discover whether this socio-linguistic evolution is restricted to one diaspora in a specific geographic context, or whether this trend is revealing a broader shift in Canadian society that can be observed in other groups and provinces.
This year, P2P organizers created a Standing Committee on Student Engagement (SCSE) to bring together graduate students conducting research on immigration related issues as a way to foster participation and highlight the contribution of students to this national debate. The committee is composed of 23 graduate students from five regions/nodes: British Columbia, the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic. Among the projects the SCSE will undertake are (1) the creation of an online library of relevant masters theses and PhD dissertations, (2) a graduate student exchange program, and (3) student workshops for the Summer Institute P2P event. The SCSE is being co-chaired by Melissa-Sharpe Harrigan (Trent University) and Ariadna Sachdeva (JSGS), for a period of 1 year.
« It has been very enriching to work with other graduate students across the country that share very similar research interests. It has also allowed me to expand my academic and professional network and even make new friends ».